Photo of an adult Black-headed Gull. Cheers David

Photo of an adult Black-headed Gull. Cheers David

Photo of a 1st-winter Black-headed Gull. Cheers David

Photo of a frosted Teasel. Cheers David

Although we cancelled Saturdays Wetland Birds Survey (WeBS) due to the treacherous conditions underfoot, it was still a spectacular morning to be out birding. It was -7 degrees when we arrived at dawn and the trees and reeds were heavily rhimed with frost. The sun quickly burned through the early morning mist and it was then blue skies all the way. The shallowness of all the lagoons on the Reserve contributes to the rich feeding which attracts so many feeding water-birds. The converse of this is that they are quick to freeze over in sustained sub-zero weather and such was the case yesterday. One advantage of the snow cover, though, is that it provides an opportunity to look for mammal tracks. On Beds 3 and 4 Fox and Badger tracks were evident wherever we walked and a lone Fox spent time looking for prey out on the frozen No.4 bed wetland. Interestingly, during the week Roe Deer tracks were found on No.3 bed, something more usually encountered on Nos.1 and 2 beds. Birds noted included: 2 Goosanders. 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Marsh Harriers, displaying Sparrowhawks, 6 Cetti’s Warblers, 4 Siskins, 6 Redpolls, 60 Redwings and 4 Fieldfare. The highlight, though, was the Woodcock which flew straight in front of the window of the Morgan Hide. We finished a spectacular morning with a count of the few hundred wildfowl and gulls which were gathered on a small unfrozen area of the Ship Canal, with the temperature still just below zero. Photo of a Lesser Redpoll Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen)

The new year started well with the long-staying Penduline Tit again showing well on No.4 bed on Thursday. It was successfully feeding on small red spiders which are numerous in the reed beds, and must be providing plenty of sustenance. Amazingly, this makes 2025 the fourth consecutive year in which this scarce vagrant has been recorded on the Reserve, with the previous individual, found in 2022, also staying beyond the turn of the year. Other sightings on that day included 1 Jack Snipe, 2 Stonechats, 5 Mandarins, 20 Redwings and an unexpected Red-legged Partridge. This morning saw the temperature dropping, ahead of a forecast for snow, and No.3 bed was showing signs of starting to freeze over. A pair of Marsh Harriers, which have regularly been roosting together, again showed well. There were also good numbers of finches around the bed, which inevitably attracted the attention of a sub-adult male Sparrowhawk. This attractive little raptor landed on the Morgan Hide feeders, scattering the feeding finches. It then proceeded to drop into the long vegetation below the feeders, where it hopped around for a while before emerging clutching a nice plump rodent, not something that you see too often! Photo of the Sparrowhawk Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen, George Dunbar and Helen Wynn)